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Keema - A Hamburger Stew with Zing!

Sometimes we stare at a package of hamburger for a long time wondering how to make something new with it. Hamburgers and meatloaf? Or chili with beans or perhaps Italian meat sauce for spaghetti. My dear friend Ursula from years gone by used to call us the " hamburger queens " because we could not afford much else back then yet we still managed to feed our families good meals every day inventing hamburger switch-ups all the time. That was more than 35 years ago. We are back to the cost of food and particularly beef being so high it's a luxury now more than ever.

This particular meal is a switch-up I made from a Parsi recipe called Keema. It is a spicy delicious heavy meal and can easily feed 5 adults with a side of vegetables, or on Rice, or on mashed potatoes. I had it for lunch with two over easy fried eggs and some spinach with avocado and pickled ginger. I had to skip dinner because I was so full. I also made fresh Naans for the family with that you don't need any other carbohydrate, just scoop and enjoy.

I made all the vegetable and spice components separately and added them back to the pan after I cooked the beef through and removed the fat.

Fry the onions till brown. Add in all the spices except the cumin, that is added last when the dish is almost finished. Add tomatoes, coriander, chilies and some ketchup and Worcester. Simmer till combined and mushy.

Now fry the hamburger till done. Remove the fat. Add the spice mix and the cumin and stir till combined. Let it simmer so the flavor marries. If you feel it needs it add a tiny bit of sugar to sweeten.

I wish I could be in the kitchen with my Mom or my Granny. I have so many questions. I would want to hear their answers because I know they loved me and would share all they knew with me. That is what I would like my blog to feel like. A place to come and sit at the table in my kitchen and watch and talk and cook together. A gathering place, a safe place, a learning place.